Embracing my nerdiness

Hello my name is Kpinion and I am a NERD. I have been a self-confessed nerd since childhood and I continue to grow in nerdiness as nerdiness abounds in my life. Evidence: I went to the Dallas Museum of Art on Saturday for the Splendors of China's Forbidden City. I went with a group of three other gals and we each purchased the earphones for the guided tour. I of course was the lagger of the group. I wanted to look at EVERYTHING and read EVERYTHING. (Sidenote: I need to write a letter to the DMA encouraging them to use larger font on their plagues describing each exhibit, it was way too small to read and should have been much larger so that everyone could read from a comfortable distance. I also have issues with the directionality of the display and the fact that there was no common flow as to where you were to go to see the exhibit fully). So I was the slowpoke of the bunch. I also got super excited then the ear phone tourguide used a word I'd never heard before in describing how the emperor would walk around a religious icon in a clockwise motion. I've now forgot the word, but I kept rewinding the tour to hear it over and over again in the hopes I would learn it.

After the tour we (and I mean I begged everyone else) to also look at the regular art in the museum. I then got excited to find art work about some works of literature I have read or want to read. I saw a painting on Oedipus and a sculpture from Dante's Inferno. I was giddy with excitement to find artwork that I knew the back history of. NERD.

So embrace your inner nerd, or in my case the outer, inner, all encompassing NERD.

We interrupt this Friday for some wisdom of the ages, or just a good giggle

Boycott shampoo. Demand real poo.

Consider the daffodil. And while you're doing that, I'll be over here, looking through your stuff.

In just two days, tomorrow will be yesterday.

Make it idiot proof and someone will make a better idiot.

If a cluttered desk is characteristic of a cluttered mind, what does an empty desk mean?

e-i-e-i-o is actually a gross misspelling of the word "farm".

I am in shape. Round is a shape.

I'm not only weird, I'm gifted too!

"What if this weren't a hypothetical question?"

Desert or Dessert, why in would they have two words so similar but so different

Ok guys I’m running dry. This week has been CRAZY and there is no end in sight. I know that I am dropping the proverbial blog ball here. I will be better as soon as the CRAZINESS dies down. Craziness and drama together make for a very stressed out and busy Kpinion.

I have nothing to write here. I’m trying to be funny and yet I can’t. With that I will dig into the basket and pull out a back up plan so here goes:

On the one hand, we'll never experience childbirth. On the other hand, we can open all our own jars. Bruce Willis

I saw a woman wearing a sweatshirt with 'Guess' on it. I said, Thyroid problem? Arnold Schwarzenegger

I assume full responsibility for my actions, except the ones that are someone else's fault.

We all can't be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the sides and clap as they go by.

I have a great diet. You're allowed to eat anything you want, but you must eat it with naked fat people.

Think twice before you speak, especially if you intend to say what you think.

I'm not myself today. Maybe I'm you.

People in glass houses should always wear clothes.

No one feels as helpless as the owner of a sick goldfish.

Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else.

I don't drink water, fish pee in it .

Support Search & Rescue - GET LOST!

He who laughs last thinks slowest!

Success always occurs in private and failure in full public view.

"Even if you're paranoid, maybe they really are after you."

More to come later . . . . . .

'Cuz we're the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything! We just stay home and lie around. And if you ask us to do anything, we'll just tell you ..

We don't do anything!

When Jes tagged me I thought of this song and now it won't leave my head. For those of you familiar with Veggie Tales you will agree that the silly songs are very addictive. I thought about just listing the lyrics here because I haven't done any of the things they listed but instead I thought I would go ahead and play the game how it should be played.

1. I've never been on a date (sirens blare as people do a double take at the screen, yep you read that right, my 27 years of glory on this earth have been dateless).
2. I've never been to Europe.
3. I've never been dropped into a hole filled with snakes (shudder).
4. I've never run out of gas.
5. I've never eaten liver (and I never will).
6. I've never been to Minnesota, South Carolina (or any Carolina), Florida, and many other states.
7. I've never had surgery (do tubes in your ears count? - they didn't cut me open but they did put me under).
8. I've never met a piece of cheesecake I didn't like.
9. I've never received flowers delivered at work.
10. I've never gone longer than a month without having the a recurring nightmare (It has some variations including the following: I'm in college and I've skipped a class for the entire semester and have to walk into the exam cold turkey, I forget where all my classes are on exam day, I show up to class for the first time in weeks and find out I have to give a presentation before the entire class of about 100, I am on campus and I've forgotten my shoes). I obviously deal with stress of forgetting things, not being fully prepared, or issues of self consciousness.

Heady Drama

There are always pros and cons to everything in life. I myself enjoy balance and justice and the thought that the pros and cons will reach a moment of synchronization and everything will be equal. Alas that NEVER happens.

I recently posted about a “dramatic” episode in my life. And as many people interpret drama in different ways I would like to define what drama means in this situation. This is NOT the drama of a failed relationship that lasted a total of one whole week (girls you will remember this from junior high). It is NOT the drama of wearing brown shoes with black pants (this is a fashion faux paux). It is NOT the drama of a highly exaggerated story with tidbits of extraneous information thrown in for drama’s sake.

No this drama is true drama, the drama of great Greek literature where the future stands on the precipice of one action. Where actions have consequences that are far reaching and final. The drama that can define a person’s life and their future. This is the drama that rises above pettiness and spite and is internal and external, harsh and yet clear, drama that reaches into who you are and calls you to stand up and speak for your integrity.

This is the drama I speak of. This is the drama I currently fine myself intertwined in. This is the drama that I can speak of in general terms but must not give specifics.

This is the drama that causes my equal balance of pros and cons to be skewed. One great pro of my blog is that I can write what I want and what I think. On big con (a good con no less) is that this blog is open to the world.

So I will keep my drama to myself and you can just know that Katie is in a world of drama right now and hopefully resolution and dénouement will come quickly.

Do de do de, do de do de . . . . . . . .

You're traveling to another dimension,

a dimension not only of sight and sound... but of mind.

A journey into a wondrous land, whose boundaries are only that of the imagination...

you're entering...

the Twilight Zone...

Except in my case I’ve entered the Drama Zone. Unfortunately I am not able to fully share with you how I came to this alternate dimension, what I am doing there, or how (or if) I can return. Just know that crazy things are afoot and Kpinion is making some big decisions that may have a profound affect.

If I only had a brain

Caution, caution

The user is experiencing extreme overload.

Caution, caution

Tuesday, May 24 is my Everest. If I can make it to that day and through that night then the rest of the summer is a CAKE WALK.

Eddie is in Hawaii land of the islands and coconuts and I am in paperwork h.e.double hockey sticks (I can say the word but i enjoy the humor of saying it the safe way) and there are no coconuts, no leis, no pigs buried in the sand. All that's out there is a mound of data entry, decisions that make my brain hurt, and graduation on the horizon.

Maybe I should stick a little umbrella in my Diet DP and close my eyes and pretend that the draft coming from my office-mates fan is a cool breeze blowing off the surf.

Nope, didn't work I can still hear the phone, the humm of the computer and I swear the paperwork is whispering my name, "Katie, Kaaatttiiieee, Katie we can see you, we know you are there, we know you can hear us, KATIE".


Mental picture courtesy of Just say Jes:

No more homework, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks

T minus two days and counting until . . . . .


A big fat ol notin.

School is ending on Wednesday and what do I have to show for it? Ten times more work than three weeks ago. From verifying and entering grades, to determining graduation status, to planning for next year so we can hold a meeting telling our families about next year.

Wait I thought the end of school meant parties, and vacation, and running through the streets without a care in the world. Instead I am crazy busy every day. But you know what I like it.

So Kpinion will be a bit more silent this week then you are accustomed to. We apologize for this blog blackout and hope to return with vigor and verosity as soon as graduation and our fall preview meeting come to pass.

Schools out for summer

Well almost. Today was the last day of elementary school but we still have until next Wednesday for the secondary kids. But it still feels like the world is ending, the school world at least. I will miss the little faces, the hellos and hugs and the funny stories they tell and hilarious truths that come out of their mouths. Kids are brutally honest and usually funny when they are honest.

We had a long chapel and then went to the park and played and chatted. Kids = play, moms = chatting. Except all the moms got together and participated in a relay race. Well it wasn't really a race because noone could win but we did play hard.

We had a relay race type event with the foil ball left over from my great April Fool's joke. It was crazy because the ball weighed about 15 lbs. and was HUGE. It was hard for me to even hold it with my monkey type arms. But we had fun and the kids laughed at us most of the time.

Ah to be a kid again. In fact there are two main things I loved as a kid, recess and naps. So today I got to have my own recess and yesterday I took a nap. It's like I'm a kid again but a kid with a job, a car, bills, and stress. Ugh.

I need a hero

Doo doo doo doooo
Doo doo doo doooo
Doo doo doo doooo
Aaahhh
Aaahhh

Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the gods?
Where’s the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn’t there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and I turn and I dream of what I need

I need a hero
I'm holding out for at hero 'till the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight

I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero 'till the morning light
He’s gotta be sure
And it’s gotta be soon
And he’s gotta be larger than life
Larger than life

Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There’s someone reaching back for me
Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat
It’s gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet

I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'till the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight

I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero 'till the morning light
He’s gotta be sure
And it’s gotta be soon
And he’s gotta be larger than life

So you’re asking yourself why is Kpinion subjecting us to 80’s music lyrics. Well because I am holding out for a hero myself.

Ah to be young, to be single, to be a girl. Wait, are those all good things? I have previously mused about singlehood and the female before but not today. Today you get my mind’s eye of what my hero will be like.

Now I know that all you marrieds out there are saying, wait Katie you can’t just make a list or have this grand idea because you will end up disappointed. That’s not how it works you are saying.

Well let me tell you something, that is how it is going to work for me. I’m not putting a height requirement, or even a hair color preference. I am equal opportunity on many items but there is a general description that I want my hero to be. And others may not think of him this way or he may not even think of him this way but I will think of him as my hero and he will be the equivalent of my mind’s eye.

My hero is . . .

Smart, intelligent, educated, a life long learner. He doesn’t have to have a master’s degree or be the smartest man in the world but I want him to enjoy knowledge, to want to learn about this world out there and all the neat things in it. I want him to have a thirst for information, it can be on many subjects and they don’t have to be intellectual but he will know about things and want to learn about others.

Able, strong, capable of protecting me. I need a man who I feel secure with. He might be shorter than me, weigh less than me, but he will NOT be a sissy. I will have a man that makes me feel secure, that makes me feel small, that makes me feel like a woman instead of the capable she-man that I can be as a single gal living alone. He will open doors, lift heavy objects, and offer to do things that I am capable of but that he will want to do to show me he cares for me and wants to provide for me.

Honest, truthful, with integrity. My hero will be a man I look up to and desire to be like. I will have a husband that other men admire for his integrity and honesty. My family and friends will find him without major fault. They will trust him with my wellbeing. He will upright and honest in all his dealings and this will be the guide for our life together.

Loving, affectionate, romantic. He will desire me as his wife. He will look at me with attraction and love everyday we are together. He will not want to be separated from me for more than a few days and will count the hours until we are reunited. He will look upon me with the same affection when we are 80 that he does the day we marry.

A leader. I cannot follow a man who does not lead. I am too headstrong and will want to take charge if I do not have a man that knows his role as the husband and leads with love and mutual submission. He will be worthy of my submission and my respect.

A good father. He will love his children sacrificially. He will want to provide a family for them where they are safe and cared for and they are trained to be men and women of substance and faith.

Fun, humorous, easy to be with. My hero will have a sense of humor to rival mine. He will laugh at my silliness and want to make me laugh. He will find joy and humor in the craziness of life and will know when to leave behind seriousness for laughter.

He will have a hobby, craft, or skill. He will enjoy sharing this with me and teach me to love something he loves. He will be patient as I learn and he will delight in my interest in his life.


This is a short list and not in any particular order but I thought I would just put out there my vision of my hero and let ya’ll know I’m holding out for him.

If I was Condoleezza

Augh, I’m not sure if I should be more frustrated with the Senate or with the media. Most likely both will endure my wrath. I am sick and tired of hearing the words: judicial appointments, filibustering, and attacking judges on faith. At least I am sick of hearing them in the same sentence.

Ok if I was in a position of power or influence, both of which are not true, except wait I am because I am a constituent who votes. So I elected my Senators and my representative and I voted for President Bush so people up in Washington listen up because I helped put you there and therefore I have a say.

And this is what I have to say:

Vote. Senators you may not like the judges that President Bush appoints to the bench but too bad you aren’t in a position to appoint judges. That is a responsibility of the executive branch. You as the legislative branch are to serve in a capacity to identify any major issues that would negate said appointee from doing their job. Those major issues would fall in the realm of: illegal activity, accepting funds from say a terrorist organization, disregarding the constitution (as written not as you choose to view it because legislature you do not interpret the constitution the judicial branch does), or any instances of treason. If you have a personal issue or a difference of opinion on how you think the constitution should be interpreted (once again not the legislatures job in the first place) then you can vote against the appointee but you must vote.

Filibustering can be and is a powerful tool in the democratic process but it can also be the equivalency of a child throwing a tantrum, stomping their feet, and yelling “I don’t want to go to bed”. Filibustering should not be used to avoid the democratic process. Certain senators (or at least their media representatives or the media outlets speaking as if they know the minds of senators) say that they oppose the President’s appointees because of ideological issues that are hot topics in judicial topics. They also say that they are protecting the people from an ideological right wing conspiracy to fill the judicial benches with conservative judges.

I have a few problems with this line of thinking:
1) All people have ideological leanings, all people have personal opinions, and all people should be able to separate these to a certain degree to be true to the position they are placed in. Does this mean that judges should be robots? No we want them to have an opinion to be human, just like us, but we expect them to work within the confines placed on their scope (i.e. the constitution and other such laws).
2) If the senators in questions are concerned about protecting the people of the country they need not worry. We voted, and we each individually and as a country placed those senators and that president in office that now have the majority to appoint and confirm these judges. The nation has spoken and the answer is that the majority voted for President Bush, thereby giving him the authority to appoint judges, and the majority of each state voted to place their individual senators which make up a majority that seem to favor the confirmation of the appointed judges. For the minority to hold up the process of confirmation is to silence the voice of the people who formed this political make up and created this majority/minority situation.

Now on a different side of the issue I do not think filibustering to prevent the appointment vote is an attack on my faith. I am the target audience of this campaign and let me tell you I’m not scared that this political issue is going to limit my faith or create an atmosphere that hinders my ability as a Christian American. This is the type of mixing of politics and church that feeds the fire that there should be a complete separation of church and state. Taking a political issue that is debunk for political sakes and making is a religious issue to stir up fire is a quick way to take the focus off the issue that our legislature is trying to skirt a vote and making it a three ring circus of politics vs. religion and my spirituality vs. your spirituality.

So back to my original idea. If I could wield some power over the senate I would say, “Vote for gosh darn sakes. Do what the constitutes of your states elected you to do. If you don’t like the outcome, then blame it on the people of this nation because we created the dynamics for this to occur. And if you still don’t like it, then work harder in the next congressional elections and help those with your line of thought and therefore vote win a majority and you can block the appointments with an actual majority instead of a hissy fit.”

See I was thinking

The following is a random line of thought I had the other night driving home. And yes I do think about things like this and yes they are random but try to keep up and post your comments with vigor.

Be aware that I am basing this line of thought on some basic truths that I hold as absolute. So here we go.

A President and a King

Many of you know of President Bill Clinton and I would assume that many of you have your one individual opinions of him. There is one specific issue that seems to garner much opinion of our 42nd president. This issue is adultery, while in office no less. Many (and this is a broad generalization) conservative Christian republicans eviscerated President Clinton for his extra-marital affair with one Miss Lewinsky (her name is in spell check people, talk about becoming a part of history). He was judged and tried in the media, the American public, and most likely in many pulpits around the country. President Clinton was even impeached for lying while under oath regarding his affair. President Clinton is a professed Christian and did confess to this act of adultery. While I do disagree with President’s Clinton’s actions and often on many of his policies and political standings I do believe that all leaders are placed in their positions by the will of God (this is my belief and you are free to disagree with it but you must understand it to follow my line of thinking). I also believe that adultery is wrong and is therefore a sin.

Many of you also know of a man named David, King David to be exact from the Bible. David was chosen by God to be king of Israel replacing the now wicked King Saul. David was called a man after God’s own heart. When David was king he took part in an adulterous relationship. He even abused his power as king to have the husband of the woman he was having an affair with killed in battle. When approached by Nathan, a priest of God who counseled David, David denied or actually did not acknowledge his wrongdoing. It is only after being called out by Nathan that David admitted his sin and confessed the act of adultery. The same beliefs that I put under President Clinton hold true here, I believe that God chose David and placed him in a position of leadership and I believe that adultery is wrong and a sin. On top of that I also believe that both men’s adultery was not a surprise to God, that God knew each man he choose to lead would succumb to this desire and sin.

So here is the final thought. Two men, one a president the other a king. Both professing to trust in the Lord. Both chosen by God to be in a position of leadership. Both choosing to commit the sin of adultery. One we know the end of his story and the other is still living his story. History has closed for King David. We’ve seen his redemption, his life, and how he changed after his sin. History is still being written for President Clinton. We don’t know how his life will end, if redemption has or will find him, or how he has and will inevitably change as a result of this sin. I guess it just struck me that the same group of people that vilify President Clinton are the same that study David, marvel at the Psalms he wrote, and count him in the bloodline of Christ.

I guess all this is to say that I’m realizing that history books aren’t finished until the story is complete and while we (and I do include myself in that we) are so quick to judge the actions of other (especially those in visible jobs or positions of leadership) we don’t know how the story ends.

So comments, questions, rebuttals. Come on people open your brains and ponder this.

Hmmm chocolate

This happened yesterday afternoon:

There is a Styrofoam plate on my desk right now with remnants of a deli sandwich. I am a very picky eater, as many of my readers will testify to. I pick off all vegetables from my deli sandwiches (turkey, cheese, spicy mustard, and every so often if I am in the mood add a little pickles and spinach; this is the perfect sandwich to me) mostly because veggies cause the bread to be soggy (as does oil and vinegar – who thought this would be a good addition to a sandwich, you might as well soak my bread in a vat of fat for a few hours and serve me a soggy piece of rancid dough as the bookends to my now slimy meat and wet cheese). But I digress from the original point (I digress a lot I’ve realized).

So I have sandwich leftovers on the plate, little streamers of lettuce to be exact. The pieces that I couldn’t scrape off my sandwich without pulling each slice of turkey meat off the bread individually and wiping it with a paper towel (I’ve completed this process on occasion of course). I also have a homemade brownie (homemade by someone else of course because other people’s homemade brownies are magically better than mine – maybe because my homemade come from a box mix, one egg, and a table spoon of the oil from the nasty soggy sandwich mentioned above). And while I hate mixing foods, I actually prefer those elementary lunch trays with their defensive walls that prevent food mixing, I am entranced by the brownie and will look past the streamers of lettuce that cling to it chocolaty goodness as I shove it in my mouth and press my finger upon the plate to eat every morsel of brownie crumb that is left.

Am I obsessive compulsive, a chocolate freak, or just a girl? Hmmmmm


It will be a double blog day today so look for a second post this afternoon.

Drivin along in my automobile

I love driving. The control, the speed, the power. I also love driving alone on long country roads where the speed limit is up for debate. I love driving on the turnpikes in Oklahoma where the speed limit is 70 but you really go 80. I love driving in Arkansas and Missiouri where every hill and dip is like a rollercoaster. I just love driving.

I drive when I am happy, when I am upset, when I am mad, when I am sad. I also listen to music that fits my mood. Sometimes I drive and yell and scream and argue with myself. Other times I drive and laugh and sing and dance.

Last night was a laughing, dancing, singing night. I shouted out a few yee-haws as I replayed my Sweet Home Alabama CD and actually replayed "Sweet Home Alabama" by Jewel. It was a good night for driving.